Sin Eater

April 8, 2016

Sin-Eater lives deep in the heart of Herefordshire’s countryside in England, UK. It is here that his fascination of animal forms grew and gave birth to his passion for taxidermy and his interest in the theory of evolution began. A cynic of Photoshop, all of his artwork is created by hand using pen, pencil and inks. Detached from the contemporary, Sin-eater’s work is a call to the echoing chasms of the past.

We caught up with Sin-Eater to chat with him about his career, work and his stunning piece “Pale Death“ for our Paradise Artist based screen print series.

Q: Hi Matt, how are you doing today?

A: I am doing well thank you.

Q: Thank you so much for creating such an incredibly detailed and perfect piece for our Paradise series!

A: It’s been my pleasure! Working in collaboration with galleries on limited edition prints is something I have really wanted to push this year – Thank you for asking me to create a piece along side some of the best artists in the industry right now, it was very humbling.

Q: Tell is a bit about how you started off in the industry? Did you study?

A: It’s been along journey for me. Growing up around artists it always seemed like a very natural choice to involve my self in, and create art for a living. I did not do the best at school academically, but I loved drawing and being creative and knew I wanted to go to Art College. I did a two-year course at Hereford Art College, and then stayed on to complete my degree within illustration. Upon leaving University it took me a year or two before I started to feel like I had the confidence to get my work out to the public – I think leaving Art College and not being within it’s “safe walls” was probably the hardest time for me as an artist.

Q: You have an instantly recognisable style, full of intricate details and precise penmanship. Can you tell us a bit about how you came to find your style?

A: I think it was in those years of leaving art college, and trying to find my own voice that I settled on the way I work now. All the way through my studies I spent my time being very raw and expressive with my art (which I do not regret for a second) but it was time for a change, and wanted to give myself a new challenge.

Q: Tell us a bit about some of your favourite projects you have worked on?

A: It’s so hard to narrow down a project from over the last six or so years! I guess if I had to pick a significant moment from my career, it would have to be my very first commission for a music project called nhor. We both started making our art together at the same time, and we also lived a short distance from each other (which was pretty cool) and over the years we have created a huge visual scape to go with the music that was created – it’s a project I am very proud to say I have worked on.

Q: What or whom do you find are your creative influences?

A: Again it’s so hard to answer a question like this! I think it’s clear from my work that I don’t really look to contemporary artists that much for influence, the old masters really do it for me. A huge part of sin-eater is the area that I live, the history and folklore that surrounds the area; the forests, rivers, nature and just the idea of the simple country life, I find that this is one of the most important influences on the way I work, and the imagery that I create.

Q: Tell us about the piece you did for Skull & Heart.

A: When I was first approached with the project I knew from the start I wanted to create death sitting upon the moon. I just wanted to bring it to you guys in a way that I had not seen before. I hope I pulled that off. (S&H: We can safely say that yes, you did!)

Q: Can you tell us about any future projects in the works?

A: This year has seen the return of a great old friend of mine, Steve Meek, a potter based in Ross on Wye. We currently have many ceramic projects on the go, so make sure you look out for them – I feel very lucky to have someone as skilled as Steve work on these projects with me, we’re creating some really special items that I hope our customers will keep for years to come, and hopefully pass down to their families over the years.